July 4, 2012
by A Shade of Her
Summary: Tony finds something interesting in the "borrowed" floor plan of the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility . . . something that he know will interest Steve greatly. Now it's just a matter of getting Agent Coulson to help him.


_Shine forever  
Beacon of light  
Blaze in the air  
Vanquishing night  
Live forever  
Held like a breath  
Deep at the core  
Blossom in death_

_. . ._  
_Through sweet the song yet sweeter still shall be the tears_  
_The night must come, the shadows grow, the dark descends_  
_And all we love and all we know must reach an end_

_Though worlds will die and worlds will grow_

_Out of death, life  
Out of night, day, glory from sorrow  
Out of grief, joy  
Out of storm, comes strength for tomorrow  
Out of dust, gold  
Out of fire, air, comfort forsaken  
Out of rage, calm  
Out of loss, find glory, awaken. . ._

"_Wonder" – Lord of the Rings: The Musical_

**July 2, 2012**

**7:49 PM EST**

**Stark Tower, New York, New York**

Tony double-checked the screen and turned to Pepper.

"You're sure this is the most recent floor plan?"

"The most recent one Phil had access to."

He whistled low.

"Yeah. This is probably the next phase, then. JARVIS."

"Yes, sir?"

"Do a cross-check on all the cryo-storage units. I want to know which contents have been sealed the longest-"

"Done, sir."

"What?"

"There were only four units in the facility, sir."

"And? Come on, speak up."

"Two are located just off the galley: they're unsealed daily and restocked every fortnight."

"And the other two? Don't waste my time with things I don't care about; I programmed you smarter than that."

"You don't care about anything, sir."

Tony winked at Pepper. She smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Touché," he chuckled. "I _did_ program you smarter than that."

"The third was used to transport Captain Rog-"

"America. Captain America."

". . . used to transport Captain America from the crash site to the facility."

"And the fourth?"

"Judging by the properties of the file in that directory, there's nothing remarkable or singular about it. However, judging from Agent Coulson's communications, access logs, and footage, I hypothesize this is the one you're looking for."

"How do you know what I'm looking for? Pepper told!" He turned to Pepper and pinned her against the wall, tickling her and kissing her neck. She squealed and batted him away. "You told, didn't you? You can't keep a secret for anything, can you?"

"That's only why you signed the company over to me."

"I . . . yes. Yes, it is, dear.

"JARVIS, how do you know what I'm looking for?"

There was a pause.

"You programmed me smarter than that."

**July 3, 2012**

**8:57 AM MDT**

**S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Mojave Desert, Arizona**

"Agent, you have to let us do this."

"Mr. Stark, must I remind you-"

"No, let me remind _you_: I have Pepper. Mr. Shakespeare-in-the-park has some astrophysicist pining away for him. 21st century Robin Hood has that hot redhead, and Banner's got a chemistry set somewhere calling his name. Your hero – your _idol_ – has only one thing left in this world."

"We let him keep the Harley," Hill offered.

"He doesn't want _a Harley_. He wants _the Peggy_."

Coulson narrowed his eyes.

"And you know about her how, exactly?"

Tony stopped and his thumb over his shoulder.

"It was her!"

"Mr. Stark-"

"Phil."

Coulson blinked.

"What did you call me?"

Tony shifted his jaw.

"So not only does it feel weird saying it, it feels weird hearing it, too, huh? I knew your name was Agent."

Coulson didn't move.

"I . . . I called you Phil. But look, after that . . . _stunt_ with the trading cards, don't tell me you're not desperate to gain his trust again."

The agent flinched.

"Okay, fine, you win this round. We were waiting for Agent Carter to respond positively to external stimuli before waking her up, but so far, she's still comatose. The cryo tech at the time she was put under was . . . well, primitive at best."

"Don't bash it; it's the best my dad could come up with."

"I'm not. I'm just stating a fact and trying to warn you that if we thaw her out too soon, there could be long term affects."

"Such as?"

"Freezer burn, for one. I'd hate to be the one to amputate anything, but when it's necessary, there's no getting around it."

"Understood. What else?"

Coulson sat and leaned back slowly.

"As you can imagine, when Captain America woke up, there was a bit of an adjustment to be made. She's at least seen the end of the war, but knows nothing more than that. . . If she knows anything at all by this point."

"You're saying-"

Coulson nodded.

"If she's not gone, her mind has almost certainly deteriorated, if for no other reason that disuse."

"Who said it hasn't been used?" Pepper asked quietly. Tony turned around and motioned her forward.

"Speak up, hon, you've got just as much right as the next guy."

"Well, it's just that . . . I don't know, I didn't study this in college or anything, but . . . she could be dreaming, couldn't she? Wouldn't that have kept her brain from . . . uh . . . you know-"

"Turning to mush," Tony supplied. Pepper winced.

"Well . . . yeah."

Coulson nodded.

"We have seen constant brainwaves, but they're barely on the charts. Director Fury couldn't see them at all."

"Wonder why," Tony muttered. "Thing is, if we wake her now, will she be coherent by tomorrow?"

The agent sighed.

"With her infamous stamina, perhaps. With her current condition . . . unlikely."

"I think she'd be willing to take that chance," Tony said.

"And now you're an expert on her, are you, Mr. Stark?"

"Don't forget, Agent Phil . . . You weren't the only one who heard about those two all the time as a kid."

**July 4, 2012**

**6:58 PM MDT**

"Look, Cap, I really think you're going to like this."

"If I wanted another punching bag, I could always go hand-to-hand with Thor." Steve laughed tiredly. "At least _he'd_ put up a fight."

"I'll think of a good comeback tomorrow; I've got a pyrotechnics show to throw together in an hour or two." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Don't tell Pepper; she. Will. Kill. Yours. Truly."

"Tony." Steve stopped and faced the shorter man. "What is going on?"

"Eh, it's just a b-day present from the gang to you is all."

"That's verbatim what you told me the first time."

Tony mulled it over.

"It's _'verbatim'_ what was I was talking about the first time. The gift hasn't changed." He stopped again and considered it. "Okay, well, maybe a little bit, but-"

"Look, if it's all the same to you guys, I'd just like to spend Independence Day alone."

Tony put his hands up.

"We don't mind at all, but I think your present would be very, _very_ disappointed."

"Since when do punching bags have feelings, Tony? This something new you engineered?"

"Oh no. I could never make one of these. I still can't figure them out, but apparently I fake it pretty good."

"Well."

"What?"

"You fake it well. What do they teach in schools these days?"

"I'm ignoring that. Besides, you wouldn't punch one of these."

He stepped in front of Steve and entered a pass code. The door hissed open revealing a dimly lit dance floor. Steve ducked under the doorframe and stepped in.

"I've . . . I've seen this place before."

"Fancy that."

"This . . . this was in that bar in England. The bar we were at before . . ."

"Oh."

Steve turned to him, his face unreadable in the darkness.

"You can't figure out bars?"

"Oh, no, I know everything about those, and have designed quite a few automated ones. The gift isn't the bar, Cap."

"Steve?"

Even in the dim light, Tony could see the color rush to Steve's face. He turned.

A woman in jeans and a white t-shirt emerged from the corner. Her skin was pale and looked cool. Her dark curls were pinned up in the style of the forties. She came within a step of Steve and stopped.

". . . Peggy . . . ?"

She laughed, the sound choked by sobs as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to himself.

Tony turned away and left, the door hissing shut behind him.

"You two enjoy those fireworks . . ."


End file.
